


[K-ON! x Pokemon] - Choose!

by Spywi



Series: [K-ON! x Pokemon] - Choose! [1]
Category: K-On!, Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Crossover, Gen, K-ON! - Freeform, Pokemon - Freeform, k on, k on!, k on!!, k-on, k-on!!, keion, keionbu, pocket monsters - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-23
Updated: 2016-05-08
Packaged: 2018-05-15 20:01:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5797876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spywi/pseuds/Spywi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pokemon x K-ON! crossover story.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Choose! - Chapter 1

Dawn breaks on a warm summer morning in Japan. Everyone was excited for the ceremony to take place, and was hurriedly getting ready. Everyone, that is, except a certain brown-haired girl. Yui Hirasawa was still in bed, having slept past her alarm once again. She snored softly as the light from the open window reflected off her favorite guitar. Her room was a mess; having been so excited the night before, she just couldn't sleep, and when she did end up falling asleep, she didn't wake up to her alarm clock.

"Sis, are you ready yet? You're gonna be late if you don't leave soon!" came Ui's voice from the kitchen.

Suddenly, Yui's phone gave a loud ring, jolting her out of dreamland. She tried to grab her phone from her dresser, but it slipped out of her hand and fell onto the floor. Sleepily getting up to pick it up, she noticed Mio-chan's name on the phone screen.

Yui gulped nervously, then answered:

"Y-yes, hello?"

*pause*

"… Good morning, Miss Hirasawa. Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"Please forgive me, Mio-chan…" said Yui in shame.

Several minutes later, Yui, out of breath and wearing slightly mismatched clothes, stood outside the auditorium where the event was to take place. Mio, Ritsu, and Mugi stood outside the doors, and they couldn't help but smile at how ditzy their friend could get.

"Let's get a move one, Yui, everyone's waiting for us." said Ritsu.

"Oh, I'm so excited, my heart's pounding!" said Mugi while holding her hands to her face.

Mio sighed. "Geez guys, thanks to Yui, there may not even be any good ones left for the rest of us."

"I'm sowwy… . . I was just so excited that…"

Suddenly, music started playing from inside the auditorium, cutting off Yui's apology. The ceremony was about to begin.

"Here we go, everyone!" said Ritsu loudly. The four of them held hands, and bravely stepped into the auditorium. Everyone in the stands applauded as the four girls made their way to the center of the field. There, standing at a podium, was an old man, and next to him was a table containing four red-and-white balls.

"Please choose one each. Their pictures and names are displayed next to the balls" said the man.

Yui nervously walked up to the table and inspected each picture and name. Suddenly,

"OOOH, THIS ONE IS CUTE!"

In shock, Ritsu yelled out:

"You're picking it because it's CUTE?!"

"Ehehe, sorry, my mind's made up!" Yui said, smiling. She made a peace sign with her fingers and them picked up the ball she wanted.

"Here we go!" she declared, tossing the ball into the air. The ball split open, and a dazzling white light beam shot out, aimed at the ground. The light re-shaped itself, turning into a blue turtle, with a brown shell.

"Squirtle-Squirtle!" the creature cried out.

"Aaaand Miss Hirasawa has chosen a Squirtle to be her new Pokémon!" announced the man at the podium. The crowd cheered loudly as Yui gave a sheepish look and waved at the crowd. She then proceeded to pet and hug her new friend , who seemed to enjoy getting hugged.

"Your new name is Shelly!"

"Squiiiirr-tle!"

"Hehe, so you like your name, don't you, Shelly"

Next up was Mio. She started getting scared, and tried to push her way behind Ritsu, but with a tug from Mugi and Yui, she slowly made her way to the table. Having researched each choice carefully the night before, she knew what her best choice would be. She picked up her choice and timidly tossed the ball in front of her. A flash of light, and a Bulbasaur appeared before Mio. The green Pokémon gave her a sweet smile before jumping into Mio's outstretched arms.

"Hey there. Will you be my partner?"

"Bulba, Bulbasaur!" came the reply.

"I-If you don't mind, I'd like to call you 'Spring', " said Mio.

"Spring? What the heck? What kind if a name is that?" said Ritsu.

"Now now now…" said Mugi.

"Heehee, it's cute, and it suits you both, Mio!" said Yui.

Mio blushed the deepest shade of red anybody could go, and started hyperventilating, but then her Bulbasaur, Spring, sensed her master's distress and released her Sweet Scent from the bulb on her back. Immediately, Mio felt calm, and she sweetly down at her Bulbasaur, surprised at how well her Pokémon understood her after only one meeting.

Ritsu watched this tender moment, and thought 'Well what do you know? They make a good match after all!'

"Ritsu Tainaka!" came the announcement from the podium.

Oops, it was her turn. Ritsu stumbled forward, almost tripping over Shelly, who playing around with Yui near her feet.

Ritsu studied the two remaining Pokémon for a long while, before finally picking up the cooler looking of the two.

"Alright then, go!" She shouted, flinging the ball into the air. It landed on top of Yui's head, bouncing off before striking the ground.

"Owieeee…" whined Yui, holding her head in her hands.

While Yui was crouched in the corner in pain, Ritsu's Pokéball opened up to reveal a young Charmander. He was not happy that his ball was being tossed about so recklessly, and stood facing away from Ritsu with his arms crossed.

"Aww, don't be mad… please? I'm sorry, I won't do it ever again!"

From Mio's arms came a cry from Spring:

"Saur-Saur-Bulba saur!"

"Tch…Char!" retorted Ritsu's Charmander, looking annoyed.

Ritsu's Charmander reluctantly faced his new owner and held out a hand. Ritsu's eyes filled with tears as she shook her new companion's hand.

"I dunno what that green plant said to you, but I hope we can be good friends. 'Kay … Blaze?" she said, stating her Pokémon's new nickname. Blaze's eyes widened in surprise, but then gave a smug look and turned away, trying to act cool. She could tell, he liked the name a lot!

"So cool, that's an awesome name you gave to it, Ricchan!" exclaimed Yui.

"Squirtle!" said Shelly, raising an arm in agreement.

"Aw, shucks, don't flatter me!" said Ritsu sheepishly. As she rubbed the back of her head, Mugi came up to the table to pick up the final Pokéball.

"Hah!" she exclaimed as she tossed the ball upwards with all her might. The ball flew almost up to the ceiling, then burst open in a shower of sparks. An actual lightning bolt rained down from the ball, striking the table and destroying it.

The three other girls huddled together in horror as the area in front of Mugi was crackling with electricity. Finally, the sparks died down, and everyone could see that Mugi's Pokémon was a cute little electric mouse.

"Pikaaaa!" it cried out, taking a menacing looking pose.

"Yahhhh!" cried Mio, hiding behind Ritsu.

All three girls trembled for a second before they realized something.

"IT'S CUTE!" they cried out, Mugi included.

Mugi picked up her Pikachu and gave it a big squeeze and twirled it around, and it was so surprised that a bolt of lightning shot out of its tail and zapped Ritsu.

"Wahhhh ouch ouch ouch ouch ouch… . . !"

"Heehee, such a cutie. Oh I know, I'll name you Chu-chan!" said Mugi.

"Chu…chan?" said Mio.

Everyone watched in amazement as Mugi hugged her new friend, rubbing her cheek against its fur. It didn't shock or zap her, surprisingly, and it's menacing look changed to one of relaxation and bliss.

"Yup, only Mugi can handle that one!" the rest of them said at the same time.

"Congratulations, everyone, and good luck on your Pokémon journey." said the man at the podium.

Each girl received an official red PokéDex, and five empty Pokéballs, and left the stadium to cheers of praise from the onlooking crowd.

Later that afternoon, the four girls stood at the edge of their town, looking out toward the great world that lay before them. Their partners stood beside them proudly, ready to face the challenges ahead. However…

"Everyone… Please don't go!" shouted a tearful voice.

Everyone turned to find Azusa, their underclassman, holding back tears as she stood there. As she was a year younger, she would have to wait a year before she would be able to go on a journey with a Pokémon of her own. She looked up to her senpais and wanted to be just like them, and it was too hard on her to watch them go.

"Azunyan." said Yui.

The four girls surrounded Azusa, pulling her into a group hug.

"Don't worry, Azusa, we'll see each other again." said Mugi.

"Yeah, we'll keep in touch, that way you'll be able to find us once you start your own journey!" chimed in Ritsu.

"No need to cry, it'll be alright." said Mio.

As everyone comforted her, Azusa's tears finally could not be contained, and spilled down her face.

"B-but I want to go with you guys, I d-don't want to be alone!"

"You won't be alone, Azunyan." said Yui.

Azusa paused, looking into the eyes of the senpai she loved so much.

"You'll have a friend of your own to start your journey with. You'll travel together, meet new people, experience wonderful things, and when the time comes, we'll meet up again and the five of us will travel together forever!"

Yui smiled, and then the others nodded in agreement.

As Azusa watched, the four older girls and their companions turned, heading past the town borders, until one by one they disappeared around the corner. Last of all was Yui, who turned back and shouted:

"We'll miss you Azunyan, but don't worry, Mugi left some sweets at your house before we left!"

Azusa, through tears, couldn't help but laugh at her ditzy senpai. She wiped her tears away and stood proudly at the edge of town, determined to be the very best she could be, for her senpais.

One year later Azusa stood at the edge of town, wearing a new hat and new Running Shoes her dad gave her. By her side stood her new partner, Skitty, who she named Skii-chan. The cat Pokémon looked up at her master, whose eyes were full of determination.

"For Yui-senpai, and everyone else, I'll be the very best!" she said. "Ready, Skii-chan?"

"Nya~" said Skii-chan in agreement.

Azusa and her Pokémon charged forward, into a brand new world. As she ran, she thought to herself with a smile:

'Yui-senpai … wait for me … I'm right behind you!'


	2. Choose! - Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary from FFN: It's been forever since I've written fics, so I decided to get back on the horse and finish what I've started.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since the first chapter was written over a year ago, this new story will take place almost a year after the events of the first part. We'll be following the story of Azusa's adventure a year after she set out on her Pokemon journey, and two years after her senpais took off on their own journey.

_Ping!_

"Your Pokemon are back to fighting form! Thank you for visiting the Pokemon Center. We hope to see you again!" said the pink-haired nurse with a smile.

"T-Thank you very much!" stammered a young dark-haired girl as she took her Pokeballs off the tray and back onto her belt. She bowed nervously and then walked back outdoors. Her twin-ponytails swayed in the morning breeze, and she took a deep breath as she stared at the clear blue sky. Time for a pep talk with the team.

"Okay, come on out, everyone!" said Azusa, tossing her Pokeballs into the air. The balls burst open with a brilliant white light, forming into Azusa's Pokemon team: Lopunny, Milotic, Wigglytuff, Altaria, and her Skitty, Skii-chan.

"Everyone, I'm grateful to have become your friend and for you giving me your support. It's thanks to you that we've made it this far. We have one more gym to complete, and then we'll be able to challenge the Pokemon League!"

"Let's get going, everyone, adventure awaits!" shouted Azusa, pointing a finger to the skies. Her team followed suit, shouting their battle cries.

"Tara, use Fly!" said Azusa, returning the others to their Pokeballs, with the exception of Skii-chan, who liked to ride on top of Azusa's head. With a great sweep of her wings, the Altaria flew high into the air, with Azusa and Skii-chan on her back. Once they cleared the clouds, Azusa sat up and spread her arms wide.

_Ahh, this feels so wonderful,_ thought Azusa. _If only Yui and the others were here to experience this with me._

It's been almost a year since Azusa had left her hometown, with the goal of catching up to Yui, Mio, Ritsu, and Mugi, her senpais who had left two years previously. Azusa had Ui and Jun with her at the start of the journey, but have since separated to follow their own paths. Within this past year, with some help from Ui and Jun, Azusa managed to conquer 7 out of the 8 Pokemon gyms necessary to compete in the Pokemon League. The last gym apparently had some renovations done, and there are completely new trainers and a brand new gym leader, so practically no one knows what to expect for this challenge. However, Azusa felt that she was up to the challenge.

After about fifteen minutes of flying, Azusa finally landed outside the gym door. Looking at the shiny new building, with the word "Gym" over the doorway, Azusa felt a twinge of anxiety, one that she hadn't felt since her first gym battle, when she didn't know much about battling. Now that she has the battle experience, she has more confidence when she battles, but since she doesn't know the battle style of this unknown leader, she'll have to think on her toes to be able to earn that last badge.

"Skii, Skii..." mewed Skii-chan on top of her head, interrupting Azusa's thoughts. She smiled, and then reached up to pat her friend on her head.

"Don't worry, Skii-chan, we'll be fine. Let's do our best!"

"Skiii!" came the reply from above, as if to say _Forward, march!_

Taking a deep breath, Azusa reached out and pushed the button next to the door. The glass doors slid open, and Azusa stepped into the dark gym.

* * *

At the same time, a familiar brown-haired head could be seen bobbing near the back of a crowd that had gathered outside a large cave. All of these trainers had collected 8 badges, and were eagerly awaiting for Officer Jenny to allow them access to the cave. A large sign that read "Victory Road" stood, blocking the entrance. The brown-haired head in question belonged to Yui Hirasawa, and she was bouncing on her toes, trying to see beyond the sea of trainers.

" _Sigh._ Looks like there's too many people for us to see what's going on." said a girl with long black hair and a white cap.

"Aww, but Mio-chan, I wanna get to the Pokemon League right away," whined Yui. "I don't wanna be last in line..."

"Geez, Yui, cut it out, you're making all of us nervous," remarked Ritsu, who was standing in front of Yui. "We're not going to be able to challenge the Elite Four if we're too nervous to even move."

"Yui, I packed some tea in my bag, would you like some?" said a beautiful blonde girl standing next to them. She already reached into her expansive purse and pulled out a large thermos of tea and lots of snacks. "If we have to wait a long time, might as well take a break, right?"

"Tea time! Tea time!" chanted Yui, already moving towards Mugi, who started pouring her a cup of tea.

"Would the both of you like some tea as well?" asked Mugi, directing the question towards Mio and Ritsu.

"Sure, I guess. I mean, this crowd doesn't seem to be moving for a while," said Ritsu, plopping herself down on the blanket that Mugi had spread out. "The cops are letting a few groups in at a time, so that they don't disturb the Pokemon inside too much."

Mugi handed tea to the others as Yui started munching on Lava cookies and Oran Berry jam on toast.

"Thanks Mugi," said Mio. "I guess we could use a break anyways."

"Still sucks though, why can't we just fly there and not have to worry about the cave, anyways?" asked Ritsu, through a mouthful of cookie.

"It's a rite of passage for trainers who want to challenge the Pokemon League, plus there's strong Pokemon in that cave that we can battle to train our teams further in preparation for the Elite 4," said Mugi. "Plus, I don't think they'd let us into the building unless we make it through Victory Road first."

"Awww..." said Yui and Ritsu sadly.

Mio giggled, and looked up at the sky, remembering when they first started their journey. Yui and Ritsu had so much trouble just catching a Pokemon, and it was Mugi who taught them all how to weaken wild Pokemon, how to throw the ball properly, and which items are most useful in battle and out of battle. Mio had to be rescued from several Bug-type Pokemon, herself, and they had gotten lost many times along the way through the forests. They managed to defeat the gyms one after another, catching and raising Pokemon along the way and forming bonds with their teams. Now, they are here at the threshold of their goals, and that championship was so close, they could almost taste it. Mio could even smell it too...smells like tea...

"MIO!" yelled Ritsu. Mio snapped back to reality, and found that she was sitting in a small pool of tea. She was daydreaming so much that she tipped her tea into her lap and was now soaked.

"Waaaaahhhhh, noooooo!" cried Mio, covering her face. Mugi was frantically trying to mop up the spilled tea, and Ritsu was busy trying to distract the crowd, who had turned to see what all the commotion about.

Yui started giggling as Mio rushed into the nearby Pokemon Center with a change of clothes, and then she too stared at the sky, thinking about the kouhai they left behind in their hometown. She got out her cell phone and scrolled down to Azusa's number. They had been so busy with their gym battles that they haven't checked in on Azusa for a long time. She sent a quick message to her before helping Mugi clean up the wet blanket.

_Hi Azu-nyan! How are you doing? We're gonna be moving forward soon, and we hope that you'll catch up to us eventually. Everyone's doing just fine, and we're having lots of fun. Mugi always has lots of snacks and tea, and we all miss you lots. Oh yeah, and Shelly says hi. Well, he doesn't say hi exactly, he says "Blassstoise" now. Hehe ^^. Gotta go, message you soon. Maybe we can videochat soon?_   
_~Yui_

* * *

"It's dark..." said Azusa, as she slowly walked down the dark hallway. The lights were all dark in this gym; there didn't seem to be anybody here.

_Did everybody go home?_ she thought. _But the gym's open, so there must be somebody here..._

_*Flash!*_ A sudden bright light appeared, encircling the girl in a warm glow. The source was the pink Pokemon perched atop her head. Her Skitty seemed to radiate the light from its entire body.

"Ah, I forgot that you can use Flash, Skii-chan!" said Azusa.

"Skii!" mewed Skii-chan, proud of its achievement.

Now that there was light for her to see, Azusa could tell that the gym was a dojo of some kind. Practice mats lined the floor, and exercise equipment and weapons were strewn about, as if everything was dropped on the spot. Once again, Azusa could find no signs of life anywhere...

Or maybe someone was here. Looking around, Azusa noticed that there was a set of potted plants lining the outer walls. The pot closest to her had something odd sticking out of it. It looked to her like two brown puffballs sticking out of what looked like a long scroll with bamboo painted on it.

"Jun, I recognize that hair of yours..." said Azusa, poking the scroll.

"W-w-w- whoa!" The pot wobbled and tipped over with a crash, revealing the hidden figure: Jun Suzuki, her friend from her hometown, dressed in a blue Japanese ninja outfit.

"Owwwiee..." groaned Jun, rubbing her head and elbows. "Haha, couldn't fool you, could I, Azusa?"

"No, that didn't fool me one bit," replied Azusa. "What are you even doing here anyways, Jun? I thought you and Ui were headed to a different city?"

"We were, and then we got lost, and then we somehow made it here. We impressed the gym leader so much that they wanted us to stay and train with us for a while. Plus, they gave us these neat outfits."

"Well, the outfit aside, that's pretty cool that you're training here at this gym, Jun. By the way, who is the gym leader here?"

"Oh, well, the gym leader is..." started Jun. "...ahhhh! Wait, wait, wait! I can't tell you that yet! Oh man, I totally forgot the script. I'm supposed to challenge you and if you can beat me and Ui, then you get to face the leader!"

"…" Azusa stared in disbelief. "...Well, it's safe to say that you haven't changed much, Jun."

Jumping back a few meters, Jun pulled a Pokeball out of her pocket.

"This'll be a one-on-one match. Ready? It's time to duel, Azusa!"

_What universe is that phrase from?_ thought Azusa sarcastically. _Oh well, no time for second thoughts._

Tossing a Pokeball into the air, Azusa took a stance.

"Go, Mimi!"

Azusa's ball opened with a flash, revealing her Lopunny. Mimi took a fighting stance as well.

"Go, Lucario!" yelled Jun.

Jun's ball slipped from her hand, bounced off a pillar, and smacked right into her face.

"Oof..."

Falling off Jun's face, the ball hit the ground and burst open, and Jun's Lucario came out looking slightly ticked off.

"Um...I don't think he liked that you were bouncing him around too much," said Azusa.

"Hehe, sorry, Lucario," said Jun sheepishly. Lucario looked away with arms crossed.

"Aww, c'mon, I said I was sorry..."

It snorted in response, then made eye contact with Mimi and took a similar stance.

"All right, let's get going!" yelled Jun with one fist in the air.

Both Pokemon ran towards each other, and the battlefield became a flurry of kicks and punches. Azusa's Lopunny shot out a barrage of attacks, but Lucario seemed to predict where each attack would come from, and dodged each of them expertly. Blocking one of Mimi's kicks, Lucario grabbed her leg and threw her across the room. Mimi slammed into the pillar and slid down.

"Oh no, Mimi!" yelled Azusa. With her PokeDex in hand, Azusa checked Mimi's condition. Her HP was down by half!

"You can do it, Mimi!"

Mimi stood up on shaky legs, and then took a deep breath and put her arms up. Lucario stood there for a second, and then promptly disappeared from sight.

"Double Team, Go!" commanded Jun. Lucario started running circles around Mimi, creating several afterimages. Neither Azusa nor Mimi could tell which one was the real Lucario. Mimi looked around in confusion, trying to pinpoint the other Pokémon's location.

"Mimi, get out of there!"

"Oh no you don't! Extremespeed!"

Lucario shot like a bullet, striking the Lopunny in the chest, causing her to fly backwards and crash into a wall. Azusa watched in horror as Mimi's HP bar on her PokeDex dropped to 25%. Things were looking bad.

_What do I do? What do I do?_ thought Azusa in desperation. _I don't know if I can win this one..._

_*Beep beep beep*_

_Huh?_

Azusa's phone made a ringing noise, indicating that she had a new message. Opening it, time seemed to stand still as she scanned the message. Reading it quickly with a smile, she found that her shaking had stopped, and that her mind became clear.

_Yui-senpai, thank you. That was a silly message, but that was just the boost of confidence that I needed!_

Snapping back to reality, she saw that Jun's Lucario was going in for the final strike.

"Mimi, High Jump Kick, now!"

Opening her eyes, Mimi bounced upwards, just missing Lucario's fist by centimeters. Lucario punched the wall, blowing a hole in it and trapping its fist.

"Now!" yelled Azusa. Mimi rotated in midair, kicked off the ceiling, and rocketed towards her trapped opponent. Lucario tried to free its fist, but it was too deep into the wall to pull out in time. Mimi's kick connected with Lucario, and Lucario hit the ground hard, and lay there, having fainted.

"Nooo!" yelled Jun, dropping to her knees. "I almost had it, too. Aw man!"

Out of breath, Azusa ran and gave Mimi a big hug.

"We did it! Awesome work there, Mimi!"

Jun got up from the floor and pulled out Lucario's Pokeball.

"Great work, friend. Go rest now." Lucario disappeared into the ball with another flash of light. Going over to Azusa, she held out her hand.

"You've grown since we last saw you, Azusa. Last time we battled, I wiped the floor with you."

"Don't remind me, Jun. I still remember that clearly." Azusa shook hands with Jun, and then Jun pulled her into a hug. Jun led Azusa over to a nearby console, where Azusa was able to heal her Pokemon. Once the machine finished humming, Azusa strapped Mimi's Pokeball to her belt. Jun pulled aside a large scroll on the wall to reveal a hidden passageway to the next area.

"Be careful battling Ui. She's wicked strong. She's the next candidate for the gym leader position once the current one retires."

"Got it, I'll do my best." said Azusa. Returning Mimi to her ball, Azusa continued down the hall, waving back at Jun until her friend was swallowed by darkness once more. Continuing down the path, Azusa wondered where she might find Ui in all this darkness. Unlike Jun, Ui learns quickly and without much effort, so it'll be harder to find her. At least, that's what she thought. Looking around, Azusa felt lost. Even with Skii-chan's Flash lighting up her way, it was still too dark to tell where she was going.

Suddenly, a door mysteriously opened to her left. Curious, but scared, Azusa tiptoed slowly to the doorway and carefully peeked inside.

Staring back at her was the very face of her senpai.

"Y-Yui-senpai?! What the heck are you doing here?"

"Azu-nyaaaan," said the figure, "Time to plaaayyy."

With a menacing looking grin on her face, she pounced on the frightened kitten that was Azusa.

"Nooooo!" yelled Azusa, bracing herself for the suffocating hug of Yui.

. . . Except it didn't come. What came was a gentle, warm embrace that made her feel safe and sound.

_Huh?_

Opening her eyes, she got a good close look at the face of her attacker and with sudden realization, cried out:

"UI! Don't do that! You know I get freaked out whenever you start cosplaying as my sister!"

"Hehe, but it's so much fun, and you're so huggable, Azusa!"

The brown-haired girl pulled back her long hair into her iconic ponytail, and pulled off the school uniform to reveal her yellow ninja suit.

"Glad to see you're doing well, Ui. Next in line for Gym leader, or so I hear from Jun," said Azusa, brushing off her rear end where she had fallen.

"Yup, but 'till she retires, I'll be fine where I am"

As if in response to the word "retires," the walls shook and a low moan echoed through the gym.

"Oops, I said something I shouldn't have, haha," said Ui.

"W-w-what the heck was that?!" trembled Azusa.

"Our gym leader's pretty . . . sensitive. Any mention of her age, and she gets like that. Oh, by the way, that moan translates to 'I'm not old yet!' ".

_How exactly do you know how to translate that?_ thought Azusa. In any case, Azusa shook her head and put on her game face.

"Well, if I'm ever able to make it to the last gym leader's room, I'll have to get past you first, right, Ui?" said Azusa.

"Yup, that's right." replied Ui. She reached into her pouch and pulled out a set of nunchuks with a Pokeball on each end. Taking a fighting stance, she cried out,

"Ready?"

"Ready!"

Suddenly, a gong sounded, echoing through the room and rattling the windows.

"Jun!" yelled both girls.

"Whoopsie...hehe" chuckled Jun, who was hiding behind the gong in the corner. "Just thought it'd set up the mood."

Groaning, Azusa shook her head and smiled at her friend. Honestly, what was she to do with her goofy friends?

* * *

Finally, Mio emerged from the Pokemon Center, blushing red, wearing a new set of clothes that Mugi had pulled from her enormous bag. Sitting down on the new mat that Yui had spread out, she quietly accepted a new cup of tea from Ritsu. Because of the tea fiasco, they missed the initial opening of Victory Road and now the entryway was nearly deserted. A few late stragglers walked by here and there, but otherwise the girls were the last ones there.

"Well, it could have been worse..." said Ritsu.

"Oh yeah? And how exactly could it have gotten any worse?!" retorted Mio.

"Um, ah, er..." stuttered Ritsu, shaken. "Well..."

"That's what I thought" said Mio, who turned away and started pouting.

Yui, who was sitting on Mio's other side, took Mio's hands in her own.

"As long as you're not hurt, then everything's alright, right?" said Yui with a smile.

"Y-Yui..." said Mio quietly, her eyes sparkling with tears.

_W-what's this. . . feeling? It's like, I feel. . . jealous, maybe?_ thought Ritsu. Looking over to Mugi, she was shocked to find the blonde girl leaning forward, looking intently at the scene that was unfolding before her large eyes.

"Oh. . . such a wonderful thing. . ." mumbled Mugi under her breath. In her mind's eye, a lot of images and scenes were being created that we wouldn't be able to broadcast to anyone under a certain age.

"A-a-a-a-a-anyways, l-l-let's get going! We don't wanna lose out to everyone else, r-right?"

Standing up, Ritsu tried to hide her shock be making a cool pose and pointing towards the entrance to the cave. Looking around, she found that no one was paying any attention to her. Mio was now quietly sobbing into Yui's shoulder, crying that she can't be a bride anymore. Mugi, eyes glazed over, was now drooling by herself as her fantasies grew more intense. Clutching her head in frustration, Ritsu shouted to the heavens,

"Argh! Can we puh-leaze get a move on here, people?! We'll never make it to the Championship at this rate..."

* * *


	3. Choose! - Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After about a year of being busy, putting it off and avoiding it cuz of Gravity Falls feels, I have returned with new inspiration for this series. Thank you for your patience, and please enjoy!

"Ugh, seriously, how long does this hallway go? I've been walking forever!"

Azusa complained to no one in particular, but Skii-chan mewed thoughtfully from her perch atop Azusa's head, and Azusa giggled. The halls felt much safer in the light, graciously provided by the cat Pokémon. After defeating both Jun and Ui, only the Gym leader remained. They had given her a set of directions on how to reach the final room. She had made a left at the waterfall fountain, through a hidden opening behind a tapestry to the right, and now that she had reached the long hallway, she expected to be there sooner than this, but the surprisingly long hallway just seemed to stretch into nothing but inky blackness. She even considered heading back and finding another route, but what if she was getting closer to the end, and decided to turn back? No, she would persevere ahead, no matter what.

. . .

N-No matter . . . what . . .

. . .

_Nope, this isn't going anywhere fast!_

Azusa glanced at her phone, only to see that it was still late afternoon. She had gotten there early in the morning, and after her two gym battles, she was starting to feel even more tired than she normally did. And much colder than normal . . . wait a second . . . colder?

Azusa looked around, to see if an air conditioner or a fan had turned on, but there wasn't anything, just the long hallway. Even so, she could definitely see her breath billowing out from her mouth like a cloud. Why was that exactly? Skii-chan was looking around, snarling a little bit, but whatever the Pokémon could sense, Azusa couldn't see it.

_Wait just a second . . . this is . . .!_

Azusa immediately closed her eyes, concentrating, allowing her breath to slow down to the point of almost stopping.

_Concentrate, find the source . . . c'mon . . . THERE!_

"Skii-chan! Use Swift!" Azusa commanded, pointing at a section of the wall. The partition burst apart, and two black figures emerged from the space behind the wall.

Skii-chan jumped down in front of Azusa, confronting the two Pokémon that took their stances in front of them: A Weavile and a Sableye, two Dark-type Pokémon.

"Very astute, Azusa-chan. I like your style!"

From the darkness, a shadow emerged. It was none other than . . .

" _SAWA-CHAN!?"_

"I told you not to use –chan with my name!" said Azusa's former elementary school teacher, puffing her cheeks. Before Azusa was old enough to go on a Pokémon journey, she had been in Sawako Yamanaka's class, where she learned the basic skills and lessons that she would need in life, as well as some other useful skills like Pokémon battling.

"When they said that the gym leader was sensitive, I should have known it was you!"

"That's what the other girls said when they joined the gym . . ." pouted Sawa-chan. "Jun made such a mockery of me, and the only reason I am able to keep going is Ui-chan's home cooking."

"Um . . . Sawa-chan?"

"What? What do you want?"

Azusa held out her hand.

"Can I have the badge and go? I'm really tired."

"Oh, of course, Azusa, here, why don't you take a nap and have some tea and cookie – _WAIT THAT'S NOT RIGHT!_ " Sawa-chan corrected herself, snapping out of teacher-mode. "You're supposed to battle with me, and then you have to earn the badge!"

"Uh . . . huh . . ." said Azusa. She remembered that while she liked having Miss Yamanaka as a teacher, Sawa-chan always was a bit . . . temperamental.

" _Who are you calling old?_ "

"No one said anything. Geez. . ."

This was going to be one exhausting day . . .

* * *

 

"Mio-chan! Stop lollygagging and hurry up!" said Yui, from the top of the flight of stairs.

"Just *huff* slow down. Geez Yui, can't you learn to walk a little slower? Some of us *wheeze* aren't as energetic as you . . ."

"Mioooooo, hurry up!" said Ritsu, who was a few steps below where Yui was. Mugi was trailing slightly behind Mio, lots of water bottles prepared in case Mio needed to rest. After a long while, Mio tottered over the last few steps, and collapsed into Ritsu's waiting arms, with Mugi hovering around them, trying to dry off Mio's sweat with a towel. Yui bounced impatiently, waiting for Mio to catch her breath, so she whipped out her cell phone and checked her messages. Nothing so far from Azusa, although she had definitely seen the message. The little "Sent" note underneath the message had changed to "Read," meaning that Azusa had read the message, but was probably still busy. Stuffing her phone into her pocket, Yui walked away from the rest of the group, towards a large set of doors that towered over the girls.

"Hey, how do you think we open the door, guys?" she called back towards the group. Mio wheezed out a breath in response, and Mugi called back,

"Just be patient, Yui-chan, we'll be there soon."

"Aw . . ."

"Yui, try looking for something we can use involving all our badges. Should be either a slot or something like that," said Ritsu. Yui started examining all the surfaces of the door, but there were no openings or slots.

"I dunno guys, I don't see anything!" she said. She sighed, turning and leaning against the door. Immediately, the door swung open inwards, and Yui toppled over into the opening. The other girls turned and looked at the now-open door, and the sudden lack of Yui. Mio, now recovered slightly, was the first to reach the door. The doorway, which should be leading to a hallway or a room, instead led to a black expanse, with wind rushing through it.

"Yui! Where'd you go?" Ritsu called out. The only response was a faint echo of Yui's voice, as if she was travelling away from them extremely fast.

"It's a _slide?_ We climbed all those steps up to the top of Victory Road just to go down a _slide_?!" exclaimed Ritsu. Mio shuddered. Heights didn't appeal to her, and neither did travelling very fast two of them looked back at Mugi, who was standing behind them. A slow smile crept over their face, and both the girls realized what was about to happen, a second too late. Mugi, smiling, pushed Mio and Ritsu back, toppling them headfirst into the mouth of the slide. Giving a little jump, Mugi followed suit, doing a graceful dive headfirst as well into the chute. As the girls' echoing screams bounced around the chamber, the doors closed by themselves with a resounding  _thunk._ The hall grew silent once more.

_Was Sawa-chan always this weak?_ Azusa though. She stood over the twitching form of her old teacher, collapsed on the ground beside her Pokémon. Despite Sawa-chan's tough talk, it seems like she was even weaker than she remembered. Or, at least, maybe Azusa had been grinding for so long that she was able to one-hit KO the enemy team.

"J-Just take the badge, Azusa . . . ugh . . . I'm getting too old for this. . ."

"Um . . . okay then . . ." she said, gingerly taking the badge from Sawa-chan's trembling hand.

"J-Just use the warp pad. Ui and Jun will see you out . . . just . . . let me sleep . . ."

"Thank you . . ." said Azusa. Feeling bad, she left some of the prize money with Sawa-chan along with a bottle of water from her bag. Walking over to the pad in the corner, she stepped on to it and waited for the lights to turn on. She closed her eyes, and after a few seconds a humming noise sounded, and then went silent. Opening her eyes, she found herself back at the entrance. Gotta love technology these days!

Ui and Jun were standing at the door, smiling.

"Congrats! You made it!" said Ui.

"Good job, Azusa! Knew you could do it," said Jun, clapping.

"Hehe, thanks, guys. I finally got the last badge. It's really hard to believe," Azusa said, looking down at the shining badge in her hand. Finally, after so long, she was a step closer to catching up with her senpais.

_I wonder what the girls are up to now. I should probably call them and tell them the good news._

Pulling her cell out again, she called up Yui on speed-dial, set it to speaker-phone, and waited for her to pick up. After a minute, the other line connected, and a burst of giggling shot through the speakers.

"Y-Yui?" asked Azusa, unsure of what else to say.

"Azunyan! Hey, we just fell down a hole and slid down a mountain!"

"A mountain?! Where the heck are you guys?"

"We made it to the top of Victory Road, and we got to the door and I leaned against it and I fell through, and then everyone slid down the slide and we're in some room now. I don't think this is the bottom of the mountain, I think this is part of Victory Road, I think. . ."

"Slow down, Yui, what do you see?"

"I'm seeing . . . a pair of . . . blue . . ."

"S-Shut up! I'm trying to get up!"

"Oh, sorry Mio-chan!"

"Oy, eyes in the other direction, Hirasawa!" came Ritsu's voice.

"Wha? I'm not looking, she just happened to land on top of me with her butt right -"

"Ugh, forget it! Mugi, help me untangled!"

Silence . . .

"*sigh* Mugi's in a daze right now . . . hey Azusa, call back later, we need to figure things out!"

"Sorry, Azunyan! We'll chat later." Yui hung up the phone, the last of Mio's wails cutting as the call ended. Azusa looked up at the other two.

"Well . . . glad to know that they're doing well," said Ui hesitantly.

After finally getting untangled, the girls made their way around the room. There were pictures lining the halls, all depicting a former winner or champion of the Pokémon League. Teams in the photos ranged from the full six-set of Pokémon, some with a diverse typeset, some were exclusively single-type. There was even a frame depicting a former champion who had won the entire Pokémon League using nothing but a Magikarp.

"Wow, is this like some sort of Hall of Fame or something?" asked Yui.

"This _is_ the hall of fame, genius," remarked Ritsu. Mio started cowering in front of one of the pictures, which displayed an all-Ghost-type team. Ritsu sighed, and looked towards the far end of the hall. Right on cue, the doors at the end of the hall opened, and a shadowy figure stepped through.

" _Welcome, travelers. Are you here to take the Pokémon League Challenge?_ "

Ritsu stepped forward to represent their little group.

"We wish to challenge the Elite Four and the Pokémon Champion!"

" _Present your badges!_ "

The girls pulled out their badge cases and opened them. Four sets of eight glittering badges shone in the light emanating from the open door.

" _All honors are in place. Please wait in the lobby,_ " said the figure. It disappeared from view, and the lights dimmed. The girls proceeded forward and emerged in an expansive lobby area, complete with a Pokémon Center on one side, and a PokéMart on the other. Various PCs dotted the walls, and a massive staircase loomed above, leading to the door to the League.

"N-N-Not more stairs . . . anything b-but more stairs . . ." muttered Mio, sinking to the ground. Mugi passaged little circles into Mio's back, whispering "There, there . . ."

"Mio, um, there's an elevator, you know . . ." said Ritsu, noting the set of metal doors next to the bottom of the staircase.

"Oh thank goodness . . ." said Mio. Mugi slung Mio's arm around her own shoulder, supporting her as she tottered her way to the Pokémon Center. Ritsu wandered over to the PokeMart to see if she could trade the 99 Max Repels they had bought in exchange for Full Restores. Yui sat in one of the padded benches on the side, taking her phone out. Taking a selfie and sending it to Azusa, she typed:

_We're about to take the League Challenge. How far behind us are you? Looking forward to hanging out with you soon! Good luck!_

_~Yui._


	4. Choose! - Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here we are! Once more, finally, another crossover fic update by me! Geez, I really need to be more consistent on these chapters. Those of you who are following this story, please be patient as I can only update this as much as I can, I’ve had lots of projects and lots of inspiration for other series, so I’ll get back to writing consistently once I have the time. (Also, I appreciate the input from everyone, but please know that certain elements of the story will come when they come. I can’t rush certain things, and I can’t write story aspects that I don’t feel would mesh well with how I am writing the plot at the moment. All I can ask is that you continue to support this story to the end. Thank you, once again)

Azusa stood in front of a set of double doors. The immense entryway loomed above, seemingly melting into the darkness of the cavern above. She looked down at the badge case in her hand. The metal pins glowed in the light of the lanterns that were illuminating the room. Skii-chan mewed at her from atop Azusa's head. She reached up and gave her friend a comforting pat on the head. Azusa took a breath to ready herself, then stepped forward.

Presenting the badge case to the door, she waited for what seemed like an eternity. The door finally slid open with a quiet rumble, revealing an inky blackness inside. Azusa lit up her phone camera, lighting up the entryway. Just as she thought, there was a slide inside, padded all along the tube in case people accidentally tripped down it in the darkness. Like Yui apparently did a few weeks ago.

"Well, it's now or never," said Azusa. Skii-chan tucked herself into Azusa's coat, snuggling into the felt pocket that was just her size. Azusa gingerly stepped through the doorway and positioned herself at the lip of the slide. With another breath, she started sliding, squealing and giggling the whole way down.

She tumbled out of the bottom of the slide onto a large padded floor. Skii-chan bounced out of her jacket pocket and started sniffing around the room, checking to see that the room was safe. Azusa stood up and brushed herself off while looking around for signs of life. Seeing that no one else was there, she walked through the double doors into the Grand Hallway.

The Grand Hallway was much more impressive than the cavern before. An expansive staircase twisted and turned overhead, marking the main path to the Elite Four. Counters along the walls were being manned by employees selling Max Repels, Full Restores, and PokéBalls. A Nurse Joy was setting up the Pokémon Center over to one side, surrounded by Chanseys and Blisseys who were organizing the various machines.

"Well, good thing I came here early. I basically beat the afternoon and evening crowds and get to be part of the first set of battles," Azusa said happily. Being the very first Trainer there, the rest of the hall was empty. The shop owners nearby smiled at Azusa as she walked past, and she couldn't help but buy a few souvenirs here and there.

"Better send these home to Mom, before I forget," she said, pulling out her PokéDex. She was grateful for the rise in technology, as the newest version of the PokéDex was capable of warping objects from anywhere in the world with satellite connectivity. This technology was meant to send physical money home to your parents when you were out and about, but recent updates allowed for small packages to be sent by connecting your PokéDex to any computer.

Walking over to the nearest open PC, she slotted her PokéDex into the tray, sliding it in like a CD. The computer booted up automatically, and the guest login screen changed to her account screen. Her mom smiled at her from her desktop background photo. Smiling at the picture, Azusa clicked on the  _Warp_  button. Placing the goodies and souvenirs onto the side console, she hit the  _Start_ button. The console glowed white, and the items vanished with a flash. A confirmation email popped up, indicating that the delivery to her mom's P.O. Box was a success. She made sure to send most of her recent winnings to her family's account, leaving enough on her card for her to buy a new set of Full Restores and other healing items.

Switching off the computer, she fished around in her bag, looking for something.

"Where . . . did I . . .? Aha! Here we go!"

Azusa pulled out a food pouch with a Pikachu sticker on it, and then reached down and tapped a button on her belt. The spring-loaded holder launched all her PokéBalls into the air, releasing all her Pokémon at once.

"Breakfast time, everyone!" she announced, leading her friends to the designated food area off to one side.

Pulling out more packs of food out of the little pouch, she was once again grateful for technology, as the PokéBall's storage technique made storing things in her bags much more convenient. Soon, she had trays set up for all of her Pokémon, who were busy conversing with each other and looking around the room.

Her Wigglytuff "Rose" and Milotic "Mina" were sharing food and laughing at a joke that Azusa couldn't understand, and her Altaria "Tara-chan" was allowing Azusa to sit on her fluffy back while everyone ate, much to Azusa's relief. Her Lopunny "Mimi" was munching on her breakfast while curiously watching a few early-bird Trainers walk into the room on the opposite end, having just completed Victory Road behind Azusa. Skii-chan was, of course, atop Azusa's head.

"I wonder where the others are. I haven't heard back from them since they called from here," Azusa asked. Skii-chan purred in response, then batted at one of the ears of Azusa's cat beanie. Putting down her sandwich, Azusa pulled out her cell phone and checked her recent messages. Yui still hadn't responded to the text message she had sent about half an hour ago, and the last time she had called was around the time that Azusa had beaten Sawa-chan's gym. She wasn't too worried, given that Yui often went weeks without a message on a normal basis, but Azusa was certain that Yui would be excited to know that she had reached the Pokémon League.

Now that she thought about it . . . Azusa realized that she hadn't heard any news from the girls since they had reached the League themselves. Given that none of the major news stations had released any information on the last tournament, she could only assume that they hadn't gotten very far in the rankings. She took a moment to compose herself and was about to call Yui when suddenly a voice sounded over the intercom system.

" _All Trainers wishing to participate in the tournament, please proceed to the foot of the Grand Staircase. Thank you very much."_

Azusa stood up, stretched, and recalled her Pokémon to their respective PokéBalls. Skii-chan sat in Azusa's hoodie as if it were a pouch on her back. She looked over Azusa's shoulder curiously as the space in front of the stairs was slowly being filled with hopeful Trainers. The noise in the hall grew as Trainers started conversing with the people next to them.

"- I mean, it's kind of early, so . . ."

"Are we starting already?"

"Hi, my name's -"

"What's going on?"

Azusa stood in the midst of the crowd, choosing to stare up at the staircase rather than converse with the others. She pulled out her phone and checked her messages, but there was no response still. Stuffing her phone into her pocket, she shifted her weight from one foot to another, bouncing impatiently to shake her nerves.

A bell sounded over the intercom. Video screens powered to life all around the room, and Nurse Joy's face appeared. She smiled and began her speech.

"Welcome, Trainers, to this month's Pokémon League Tournament. One hundred Trainers have gathered here today to test their skills against the best Pokémon Trainers of their generation. Now, without further ado, let me introduce you to our newest Elite Four!" She gestured beside her on the screen, and four silhouettes appeared next to her along with a larger fifth silhouette representing the Champion.

"The previous generation of Elite Four and Champion had reigned for several years, and all of them decided to step down at the start of the season. The five spots had been vacant for quite some time, so in lieu of a traditional tournament, a competition was held last month to determine who would nab the top spots. These Five Trainers have broken all records in the Hall of Fame, taking over all five spots in a landslide victory. They've recently proven themselves in the annual Gym Leaders' Tournament held in Celadon City, defeating not only all the region's gym leaders but even a former Region Champion: Lance, the Dragon Trainer. But enough explanation, let's bring them on out!"

Azusa stood on her toes, trying to get a glimpse of the strongest Trainers of this generation. The silhouettes spun on the screen, and then one-by-one, brightened up, revealing their faces. The crowd roared as their faces were revealed, and the real-life Trainers appeared at the top of the stairs. Multiple spotlights shone on them from above, revealing each of them in tandem, synchronized to Nurse Joy's commentary.

"The Fire-Type Trainer of the Elite Four, and self-proclaimed 'Volcano Queen,' Ritsu Tainaka!"

"The Grass-Type Trainer of the Elite Four, dubbed the 'Monarch of the Forest,' Mio Akiyama!"

"The Electric-Type Trainer of the Elite Four, also known as the 'Gentle Lightning Goddess,' Tsumugi Kotobuki!"

"The Flying-Type Trainer of the Elite Four, and the strongest of the four, earning her the title of Wind Master,' give it up for Nodoka Manabe!"

"And finally, the Champion, the one who overtook everyone in terms of sheer strength, accuracy, and single-handedly defeated Lance by herself, 'The Ocean Empress,' Yui Hirasawa!"

The five of them took their places at the top of the staircase, waving as the cheers filled the hall. Yui and Ritsu were waving energetically, and Mugi was waving as if she were a princess. Nodoka and Mio were more reserved, waving and looking slightly uncomfortable with all the attention. Once the noise died down, Nurse Joy continued,

"Now then, let's have a word from our Champion. Miss Hirasawa?"

Yui stepped forward and spoke into the microphone that ran from her ear down to her mouth.

" _Ahem._ To all you new Trainers, welcome to the Pokémon League. You guys worked your hardest and made it to this tournament, where you'll be able to, um challenge us, and . . . ah, huh? Um, Mio-chan, what was I supposed to say?"

Yui looked at Mio, who groaned. The Trainers in the crowd let out a collective laugh. Mugi stepped forward and spoke into her own microphone.

"We're so happy that you all are able to make it. Please enjoy this tournament."

"Yeah! What Mugi said!" Ritsu yelled. "Let's enjoy this tournament! All of you, come at us, right now!"

"Wait, Miss Tainaka, that's not how the rules-" Nurse Joy said, trying to calm her down, but Ritsu wasn't listening.

"What? We're the Elite Four, don't we set the rules in this biz?"

"Ritsu," Nodoka said in a stern voice. "We don't set the rules; we have to meet the standards of the Federation."

"Aww . . ." Yui and Ritsu groaned. Mugi started giggling.

The crowd started murmuring while this act was going on. A couple of the young men were began chatting about how cute the new Elite Four and Champion were.

"A-Anyways, the rules of the challenge are simple," the Nurse Joy said, continuing the show along. "You will be facing each member of the Elite Four consecutively. You will have an opportunity to use each floor's healing station to fully heal your team, but you may also opt out of the current challenge if you decide to try again next time, or if you are unable to continue. If you are able to complete the Elite Four challenge, you will be given the opportunity to challenge the Pokémon Champion, and the chance to have your name and your team memorialized in the Pokémon Hall of Fame. Now then, please enjoy yourselves, and best of luck!"

The girls at the top of the stairs waved one last time, and then a flash of light lit up the hall, and the girls disappeared. The Trainers raced up the stairs, cheering. Azusa ended up alone at the bottom of the stairs, still in shock.

_Top trainers . . . Elite Four . . . broke records . . . Champion . . . landslide victory . . . beat Lance . . . Yui?!_

Azusa's brain was in overdrive, still trying to process the fact that her senpais had completely dominated the competition and are the current best of the best in the League.

A buzzing in her pocket jolted her back to the present. She pulled her phone out and saw that Yui had sent her a message.

" _Saw you in the crowd. Skii-chan waved at me ^_^ Can't wait to see you again. Good luck!"_

"Geez, Yui, always a few steps ahead of me," Azusa said, smiling at her screen. She looked at Skii-chan's reflection in her phone. They both nodded.

"Let's do this!" Azusa yelled, running up the stairs.

She pushed her way into the first room. The red-themed room was packed with Trainers, all waiting for their chance to battle the first member of the Elite Four. Thankfully, the line was moving fairly quickly, and by the time she had made it the front, it was apparent as to why.

Ritsu was taking on groups of five to six Trainers at once, effectively decimating everyone in her way. The crazy part was the Ritsu was using only two Pokémon to accomplish this. She was switching between an Arcanine and Magmortar between battles, keeping the other Pokémon in its PokéBall on a healing pad.

"Aw, c'mon, this is just too unreal," said one of the Trainers in the line. "If this is the first member of the Elite Four, I don't want to know what the Champion's like."

"I know, right?" said his friend. "Heck, they're all so cute, though. Do ya think she'd go out with me if I beat her in a battle?"

"No way, she'd beat you up before that would happen."

"Geez, you guys have no faith in me . . ."

Azusa giggled to herself. Boys will be boys after all. Personally, she found a lot of the boys she had met on her journey to be quite annoying, even more so after she had beaten them in battles. Not that she was looking for a boyfriend right now anyways.

"Awesome, our turn!" said the boy Trainer who wanted to ask Ritsu out. His friends all joined him on the field and they all called out their Pokémon.

"Heh, you guys ready for this?" Ritsu said, tossing a PokéBall up and down in her hand.

"Anything for you, cute stuff!" said one of them.

"Ooh, so you think you're hot stuff, man?" said Ritsu. "Let's see how you handle the  _fire,_ then!" Azusa cringed where she stood. Apparently Ritsu's strange collection of quips hasn't changed much.

She tossed the PokéBall into the air. Her Arcanine emerged, baring its fangs. Her opponents all sent out a variety of Pokémon, all chosen to combat Fire Pokémon. Various Water, Ground and other types of Pokémon that are effective against Fire-types stood in front of the Arcanine. Ritsu stood her ground, grinning. Suddenly, her Arcanine disappeared from everyone's line of sight.

_Extreme Speed!_ Azusa thought. She blinked, looking around, but it was already over. The Arcanine appeared in front of Ritsu as the rest of the Pokémon fell over, unconscious. The Trainers all shouted, wondering what just happened. Ritsu started cackling.

"Flare Blitz, Close Combat, and Wild Charge, all while combined with Extreme Speed! You Trainers need to think outside the box to defeat me!" laughed Ritsu, hands on her hips. The rest of the battle followed the same pattern. Being able to predict the Arcanine's next move was near impossible. In the end, the Trainers recalled their Pokémon and glumly exited the room as the next set of contenders took the floor. Azusa gulped. She had never imagined that the girls had leveled up this much. The power that Ritsu held by herself was unreal, and she was classified as the lowest-level member of the Elite Four!

Azusa eventually made it to the front of the line, and she entered the field with four other Trainers. She took a stance on the far end of the battlefield, considering her options carefully. Each person was allowed two Pokémon per battle. The Elite Four were no exception to this rule, as you needed to defeat both of their Pokémon in order to advance, but as of right now Ritsu has really only needed her Arcanine to blow away the other 95 Trainers. She's only needed to use her Magmortar twice this entire time.

Ritsu was busy petting her Arcanine, so when she turned around to face the challengers, she almost fell over.

" _Azusa?_ What the heck, where did you come from?" she exclaimed. The other trainers looked at Azusa, confused.

"Um, I was in the line," Azusa said, blushing.

"Oho! Looks like our little kitty kouhai wants to take on her senpai. Well, then, I guess it's only fitting that we end this in style! Bring it on!"

The Trainers all called out their Pokémon. Azusa pulled out a PokéBall and tossed it out in front of her.

"Mina, let's do this!" she called out. Her Milotic gracefully appeared in a sphere of bubbles. She let out a melodious cry and settled in front of Azusa.

"Brace yourself, Mina, this one's really fast," Azusa called out. Mina nodded, focusing her gaze on Arcanine.

"Think you got what it takes? Then try this!  _Arcanine!_ " Ritsu commanded. Her Arcanine reacted instantly, letting out a thundering Roar that sent shockwaves across the battlefield. The other Trainers' Pokémon were blown back by the force, disappearing into their respective PokéBalls.

"Hehe, try again," Ritsu smirked. Suddenly, another thunderous noise filled the arena. Pellets of water started dropping from the ceiling, where dark clouds were starting to form.

" _Rain Dance?!_ Who the heck…?" Ritsu yelled, looking around. Suddenly, a voice called out through the storm.

" _Mina!_ Dragon Tail next!"

From out of the rain, a large tail swiped and struck Arcanine in the side. It glowed bright red, and disappeared, having been forced back into its PokéBall. Visibly flustered for the first time, Ritsu pulled her other PokéBall off the healing podium and called out her Magmortar. Azusa stood firm, calling out commands.

"Preparations complete! Get ready!" Azusa yelled, pointing forward. Mina's eyes glowed, and suddenly the rain surrounding the Magmortar formed a spinning ring around it, trapping it in place.

"Now!" Azusa yelled. Mina opened her mouth, expelling a glowing jet of water at her foe. There was a flash, and a brilliant blue red and purple flame spiraled around the Hydro Pump, and the combined beam struck Magmortar, instantly sending it to the floor. Ritsu recalled her fainted Pokémon, staring in awe at the triumphant Azusa. The other four Trainers stared at her in a similar fashion.

"Y-You one-shotted me, Azusa. What the heck? When did you suddenly get crazy good?" Ritsu said in disbelief. "Dragon Tail to switch out my faster Pokémon for a slower one, Rain Dance to power up to your Water-type Pokémon, Whirlpool to make sure it doesn't dodge and combining Dragon Pulse with Hydro Pump for a double whammy. Damn."

"Thanks," said Azusa bashfully. She personally didn't consider herself worthy to be considered "crazy good" from one of the Elite Four.

"No, seriously, you even avoided my Arcanine's Roar attack. How'd you do it?" Ritsu asked.

"Um, I had Mina use Protect, combined with a Mirror Coat for good measure."

Ritsu shook her head, chuckling.

"Always the creative one, you. Hey, the rest of you!" she barked at the remaining four. All of them jumped, looking around at the fourth seat of the Elite Four.

"You all fail. Try again later in the afternoon round. Capiche? Stick around and watch my battle with Miss Nakano here. Take some notes, maybe you'll learn something."

Not wanting to miss a golden opportunity like this, the remaining four Trainers stood by the sidelines. Azusa stepped back to the edge of her side of the field. Ritsu pulled out her second PokéBall.

"You're the first person all day to get a hit in. Entertain me, young kitty," she smirked, tossing the PokéBall in front of her. Her Arcanine stood proud, facing Azusa with fierce eyes. Azusa recalled Mina, opting to send out her Lopunny, Mimi.

"Seriously, Azusa? You call back your best chance, your Water-type, for a Lopunny?"

Azusa stayed silent, instead focusing all of her brain power towards calculating a battle plan. Jun asked her after their battle how the heck she was able to check her phone messages and come up with a winning solution on the spot. Over the course of her journey, Azusa had developed a remarkable ability to shut out distractions and completely concentrate on what's important. She was able to take in details at a rapid pace and put together what little scraps of information she has into an amazing strategy in less than a second. This, coupled with her diverse team of Pokémon and her even more diverse knowledge of winning strategies, has earned her a rather unique nickname amongst this year's batch of rookies: "Silver Rapier." Her superhuman concentration and reaction time allowed her to respond quickly in any situation, and she hit her opponent's critical points 100% of the time. Ever since the start of her journey, Azusa has not lost a single match. She completely obliterated the Gym challenges in record time and completed Victory Road on her first try. She was confident that she would be able to find a way to beat Ritsu.

Ritsu took a stance, watching the gears start to turn in Azusa's head.

"Go, Arcanine!" Ritsu yelled. She started counting,

"One. . ."

Azusa's brain went into overdrive.

_Arcanine. Possible abilities: Justified, Intimidate, or Flash Fire. 80% certain on it having Intimidate. Knows Roar, Extreme Speed, Flare Blitz, Wild Charge, Close Combat, possibly Crunch. Ice moves aren't an option against Arcanine, so Ice Punch is out of the question for us. High-Jump Kick can't reliably hit 100% of the time, so that's clearly a risk. Rain Dance is still in effect for at least two more turns, but that's just not . . . wait . . . never mind, I just found my solution._

"…two," Ritsu counted, and then Azusa suddenly moved.

"Mimi!  _Thunder!_ "

"What the…?! Arcanine! Dodge!" Ritsu said quickly, but Azusa's quick thinking proved to be faster. The clouds above crackled, and a single, massive bolt dropped from the ceiling towards Arcanine. It tried to leap out of the way, but the attack hit its mark. With a loud bang, the Thunder attack completely electrified Arcanine, and it stumbled, falling over. Growling, Arcanine struggled to get to its feet.

"Arcanine, don't give up! Grr," Ritsu gritted her teeth. She should have known. Lopunny is capable of learning Thunder, and Thunder has a 100% accurate hit rate in the rain. Coupled with Azusa's insane reaction time, there was no way it could miss. Azusa didn't miss a beat, continuing smoothly from the last attack.

"High-Jump Kick!" she called out. Lopunny bounced on its hind legs and shot into the sky. Ritsu's Arcanine, still shaken from the Thunder attack, couldn't react in time. Mimi's attack hit its mark, causing her opponent to tumble to the ground. The scoreboard on the wall lit up and the speakers played a victory sound. The four Trainers on the sidelines didn't even make noise, they just stared in awe as Azusa ran onto the field and hugged her Lopunny. Skii-chan bounced and ran circles around them happily while Azusa started cheering. Ritsu smiled and called her Pokémon back to her.

"Hey, she beat us," she whispered to the PokéBall, placing it on the healing stand next to Magmortar's Ball. "Better luck next time for us."

"Azusa," Ritsu said, walking over to her. She held her hand out to her kouhai. "You got the best of me. Honestly, you're the first person outside the rest of the Elite Four and Yui that's been able to defeat me in battle. Don't think the battle's over, though, kiddo."

Azusa took Ritsu's hand, and then, feeling her heart swell, she lunged forward and gave Ritsu a tight hug.

"Oof!"

"You guys could stand to at least contact me more! I've been worried sick about you girls not calling me. Next thing I know, you, Mio, Mugi and Nodoka are the Elite Four and Yui is the  _freaking Champion?!_ What the heck?"

"Hey, that's just how things are. You wouldn't believe the amount of time we spent training in the Victory Road caverns. Poor Mio couldn't take much more; she was at her wits end by the time we finished. We ended up taking all the top spots in one go. Then there was the Gym Leaders' tournament in Celadon. I dunno how, but we decimated the competition and then Yui took on Lance and won by a small margin. Guy's a freaking nightmare to battle; that Dragonite of his should be illegal."

"Also,  _self-proclaimed Volcano Queen?_  Seriously, you couldn't think of a better name than that?"

"It's better than Mio's original chosen name. She wanted to go with something flowery and stuff, but we collectively decided on 'Monarch of the Forest' because – ah geez, I'm not gonna explain it for the bazillionth time. I'll let her explain it in the next round."

"Oh! R-Right, I still need to battle the rest of them. Any tips?"

"None that I can say out loud. All I'll say is watch out. Especially if you somehow end up facing Yui. And also, I want a rematch when this is all over!"

"Huh?" Azusa asked.

"In case you've forgotten, I haven't even used my first Pokémon, Blaze, remember? I only used Arcanine and Magmortar 'cuz I needed to train them up a bit. None of the Elite Four are using our main Pokémon because it'd be too unfair to the newbies. Now, if you've beaten the Four and the Champion once and decide to come back for more, we'll switch to our strongest teams and give you a five-on-one rematch from hell."

Azusa gulped. Ritsu wasn't even using her full strength, and she annihilated 99 other Trainers in one day. She shuddered to think what it would be like to take on all five of them at once, let alone one at a time at full strength. Would she be able to handle the next few battles?

"Hey, snap out of it, Azusa," Ritsu said, tapping her on the forehead. "You have potential. You have what it takes. The question is, will you harness that potential properly, or will you fall flat on your face?"

"I can do this! I won't let you down!"

"Better not. I'll beat some sense into you properly if you lose," Ritsu said. Azusa beamed. Hearing something like this from Ritsu filled her with determination and hope, and she clenched her fist. This was her chance to prove herself to her senpais.

"You can use the healing pad over there. I gotta go shower and stuff, I've been battling nonstop all day," said Ritsu, heading for a set of swinging doors to the side. "Good luck, and let's all have some tea together, for old time's sake."

"Yes, absolutely! I can't wait!" Azusa said excitedly.

"Good, awesome. 'Kay, bye!" Ritsu said, and then smacked face-first into the swinging doors. She pushed against the doors, which made a rattling sound. She kicked the door.

"Stupid door!" she grumbled, and then, realizing that it was a set of pull doors, she groaned loudly and pulled at the handle.

"Why does this door just hate me –  _are you guys still here?!_ " she snapped at the four other Trainers who had stepped onto the field with Azusa initially. They yelped, and scurried down the exit stairs while Ritsu grumbled some more and disappeared through the door. Azusa giggled. Same old Ritsu. Maybe Volcano Queen was a more appropriate name than she thought.

After healing up her team, Azusa walked over to the elevator on the opposite end of the room. She stepped through the open doors and pressed the up button, and then waited as she ascended to the next floor.


End file.
